Predictors of posttraumatic growth in a multiwar sample of U.S. combat veterans

Abstract

Existing research has extensively investigated the psychologically adverse effects of witnessing and participating in war violence on combat veterans, but few studies have investigated adaptive outcomes such as posttraumatic growth, which refers to positive psychological changes resulting from struggling with traumatic events. This study investigated the prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic growth in a clinical sample of combat veterans (N = 167: 35.9% Vietnam; 37.2% Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom; 26.9% other wars). Veterans completed measures of various personality and psychological functioning as part of a routine screening for admission to a Veteran's Administration (VA) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment program. Sixty-nine percent of the sample endorsed at least a moderate degree of posttraumatic growth on at least 1 dimension, with increased appreciation of life being the most frequently endorsed dimension. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated that minority ethnicity, higher cognitive flexibility, and greater perception of moral wrong doing were significantly associated with greater posttraumatic growth, whereas greater anger was marginally associated with lower growth, and PTSD symptoms were not associated with growth in the final model. It is possible that being an ethnic minority is associated with increased discrimination and life adversity, which may facilitate overall benefit finding and posttraumatic growth. Psychological interventions may seek to explicitly promote cognitive flexibility and provide veterans with the opportunity to work through anger, as well as their sense of wrong doing, to help foster growth. © 2015 American Psychological Association.